Jurgen Leitner

WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR LATER EPISODES OF THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES! READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

Jurgen Leitner was a Scandinavian-born recluse who was big in the literacy scene in the 1990s, custom binding known books, or paying authors to write for him. Upon discovering the existence of the supernatural, he set about collating books in an attempt to protect the world from their effects.

He disappeared around 1995, and is best known for his library.

Contents

The library was destroyed in 1994 (MAG 4). It was created based on the architecture of Robert Smirke, with sections uniquely designed to hold their "prisoners". Leitner later described all "defences" as pointing inward, making breaking in almost trivial (MAG 80)

It was known for having books on demonology or the arcane. At it's height, the library contained 938 (confirmed?) books (MAG 80).

Ex Altiora (MAG 4, MAG 46) - a book bound in calf leather in the 1800s with the title on the spine in faded gold letters, the pages appear to be from the 17th century. It was a Virgil style poem written in Latin, concerning a huge creature approaching a town who struggled to decide how to combat this creature, eventually throwing themselves to the rocks below out of madness. The book also had woodcut images of cliffs, mountains, a tower and a starless sky. These images trigger vertigo. When the book was in Herbert Knox's possession, it did not have the image of the starless sky, and it is possible that Michael Crew imprisoned or sealed a figure inside the book to make that image. It's exact purpose or content is unknown and it was destroyed by Gerard Keay.

The Bone Turner's Tale (MAG 17) - a thick black paperback with the title in white sarif font. Handed in to the Chiswick library and taken by Jared Hopworth. It seems to recount part of the Canterbury Tales, although in a different writing style. It's contents are mostly unknown, but does talk about a Bone Turner, who seems to have some power over bone, or some crafted related therein. It is possible that the book explains how to become a 'bone turner', as Jared may have adopted the art.

The Book of Solomon, owned by Macgregor Mathers and Jurgen Leitner - a book on demonology found on eBay (MAG 4). The buyer, grbookworm1818, is later revealed to be Gertrude Robinson. It was destroyed by Robinson and Leitner in the tunnels beneath the Institute. It is notable as being one of the few books "marked by several powers" (MAG 80).

The Tale of a Field Hospital - an early version of the book by Frederick Treeves, including several chapters detailing the death and reanimation of a Private Amherst. The book itself served as a vector for many diseases, as evidenced from Joseph Russo's death and putrefaction from a paper-cut sustained from it. Though it once possessed a library sticker, it was mostly torn off (MAG 68).

1985 - Jurgen Leitner rents an office in Pall Mall, just above a series of passages designed by Robert Smirke. He continues renting these offices until 1994 (MAG 35).

1987 - Jurgen Leitner asks for Harold Silvana and Rachel Turley to dig a hole beneath 100 Pall Mall. When asked to confirm that he has the owner of the building's permission, Leitner becomes aggressive, and they do not do the job (MAG 35).